How is the world turning – what does the future hold for us all? The news is full of the dark stories, the more shocking the better, it seems. If someone wants to try to do some good for others, someone is sure to dig up some angle that reflects badly on the person, maybe from his or her youthful past. In the Media Journalists provide what the public will buy. Was Maggie Thatcher right, when she proclaimed that there is no such thing as society? Have we really lost any sense of community or the common good?
Shakespeare put it succinctly – ‘If you pay everyone what they deserve, would anyone ever escape a whipping?’
Jesus was even more direct – ‘Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.’ We will be judged, as we have judged others.
Frankly, that scares me, as I look back on my life from the standpoint of the last quarter of my life. We need to be generous in judging others, not solely from self-interest, but because our innate sense of fair play, imprinted by our Creator God, gives us a feeling of well-being when we do. We only have to reflect on our feelings of ‘rightness’ or of ‘dis-ease’ to find where God is acting in our lives, as St Ignatius teaches. Our consciences can be stifled by being disregarded, in the constant battle to keep afloat in a harsh world, but this dismal scenario is not the only one.
We have only to look at what is happening beneath government level in local communities everywhere. People are giving their time, their skills, yes, even their money, to make our world a fairer place for those who need assistance at particular times in their lives.
There are community gardens, language and NZ culture classes for refugees and new migrants, grannies who help new parents with young children, the transition-towns network, Catholic Social Services, community health centres, Downtown Community Ministry, the night shelter for men and initiatives to provide something similar for women.
All these and more are involving many of us, often with minimal or decreasing support from government. In times of fiscal austerity, you can be sure it is the ‘poor who have to pay’ to supposedly keep our economy going. We do have the ability to change our society, if we only have the desire. ‘Power to the people’ is not an empty slogan, but it needs prayer, tenacity and perseverance to effect change. The YCW dictum, see, judge, act has much relevance. Look at a situation objectively, judge whether it is just, and act to change it, in accordance with Catholic social justice principles. If all this seems to be too hard, join with others. Be inspired by the Sermon on the Mount – it is all set out clearly for us. With the Spirit’s guidance, we can fulfil our Creator’s plans for us and for all of creation, the mission we were entrusted with at our baptism.
Tricia Kane is a retired librarian and a grandmother
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News category: Analysis and Comment.
